The subject invention relates to a device for removing a disk from a disk housing and automatically releasing the disk while loading onto a disk drive and returning the disk to a disk storage housing after the disk has been used and more particularly but not by way of limitation to a diskette picker used for gripping an edge of a magnetic data storage disk and retracting it from a disk storage housing and releasing the disk for loading onto a disk drive.
Heretofore there have been various types of devices for gripping and removing rotating disks such as phonographs, records, data storage disks and the like. More particularly, these devices are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,264 to Carbine, U.S. Pat. No. 4,226,570 to Holecek et al and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,173,427, 4,170,031 and 4,170,030 all to Beuch et al. None of these devices provide the combination of structure for providing the unique results and advantages of the diskette picker as described herein.